Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of the projected cost of tax relief available to those benefiting from the special assignee relief programme to send their children to fee paying schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9649/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Section 14 of Finance Bill 2012 provides for the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP). This programme will reduce the cost to employers of assigning key individuals in their companies from abroad to take up positions in the Irish based operations of their employer. In recognition of differences in curriculums taught and primary languages that may be spoken by the assignee and/or their children being brought to Ireland, vouched primary and secondary school fees of up to €5,000 per annum per child, where paid for by the employer on behalf of an employee will be allowed free of benefit-in-kind taxation.

The cost of this benefit-in-kind relief will ultimately depend on demand, the number of assignees that transfer children to Ireland and whether the employer is willing to pay the relevant fees. The overall estimated cost of SARP provided at the time of the Budget was based on 100 individuals qualifying for the maximum relief available under the scheme. If half of these assignees placed one child in a fee paying school at a cost of €5,000 per annum and the employer paid the relevant fees, the cost of the exemption from benefit-in-kind taxation on such fees would be just over €100,000.